tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post5381542711734252925..comments2017-08-16T03:16:11.002-07:00Comments on Soul Search: Free Presbyterian Church of ScotlandSoul Searcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484611864233206491noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-14506075339435306642016-09-30T10:10:26.049-07:002016-09-30T10:10:26.049-07:00This was depressing to read. Please study Christia...This was depressing to read. Please study Christian apologetics as you will well find the doctrines of the historic Christian faith to be the unvarnished truth, perhaps after embracing the the Lord with your mine you may embrace Him with your heart.<br /><br />Only His Spirit can do this in us.Alex Macarienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-45828032242676730642015-02-22T04:13:16.419-08:002015-02-22T04:13:16.419-08:00Taing airson beach fhàgail, a Chanaich. Tha am blo...Taing airson beach fhàgail, a Chanaich. Tha am blog agad a&#39; coimhead gu math inntinneach, &#39;s tha mi a&#39; dol a leantainn airson faighinn a-mach ciamar a thèid leat air an t-slighe. Gura math thèid leat, ma-tà.Soul Searcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484611864233206491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-63529897003862147042015-02-21T14:11:51.485-08:002015-02-21T14:11:51.485-08:00Hello Soul Searcher - nuair a lorg mi am blog agai...Hello Soul Searcher - nuair a lorg mi am blog agaibh an-uiridh, bha mi a&#39; smaoineachadh torr air creideas ach cha robh mi cinnteach fhathast de dheanainn. Thainig mi gu co-dhunadh bho chionn greiseag agus bha an t-uabhas de smaointeann nam cheann gun do thoisich mi blog. Seo an larach-lin ma tha sibh airson tadhail air uairegin http://scotinprogress.com/<br />Canachcanachhttp://scotinprogress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-89742175221806627292014-05-22T10:26:38.811-07:002014-05-22T10:26:38.811-07:00Tha siud cho fìor &#39;s a ghabhas, a Chanaich. Th...Tha siud cho fìor &#39;s a ghabhas, a Chanaich. Tha mi cinnteach nach eil sibhse a cheart cho cruaidh nur beachdan &#39;s a tha cuid sna diofar eaglaisean. Soul Searcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484611864233206491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-30793277553906489842014-05-21T14:41:06.407-07:002014-05-21T14:41:06.407-07:00Gur math a theid leibh air an t-slighe seo, Soul S...Gur math a theid leibh air an t-slighe seo, Soul Searcher. Chan urrainn dhuinn mar daoine a&#39; tuigsinn Dia. Tha creideamhan agus eaglaisean a&#39; cleachdadh riaghailtean, cleachdaidhean agus samhlaidhean airson gar treorachadh gu Dia. Tha trioblaidean ag eiridh nuair a tha sinn a&#39; cuir barrachd cudrom air na samhlaidhean fhein na air de tha a&#39; tachairt nar cridhe-san. No nuair a tha sinn a&#39; smaoineachadh nach eil luach sam bith ann na cleachdaidhean agus samhlaidhean eaglaisean no creideamhan eile. Sin am beachd agamsa co-dhui mar cuideigin a tha ag iarraidh a bith pairt den eaglais a&#39; rithist ach aig an aon am tha mi a&#39; faicinn gu bheil cunnart ann gu bheil mi a&#39; fas ro chruaidh nam bheachdan agus a&#39; breithneachadh air daoine eile. Le durachdan<br />canachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17701638262812797700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-74297876418333231022014-05-17T05:46:00.995-07:002014-05-17T05:46:00.995-07:00Taing mhòr, a Chanaich, airson ur beachdan inntinn...Taing mhòr, a Chanaich, airson ur beachdan inntinneach a chur an cèill an seo. Tha argamaid gu leòr air a bhith ann air na sgrìobh mi mun Eaglais Sh Ch dhan deach mi ann an Inbhir Nis an-uiridh -- a&#39; chuid as motha dheth, gu mì-fhortanach, a&#39; cur cuideam air cofaidh agus briogais seach cultar agus diadhachd na h-eaglaise fhèin -- agus tha e math a bhith a&#39; cluinntinn bho cuideigin a tha air tighinn a-mach às, air rannsachadh a dhèanamh am measg eaglaisean eile, agus air tilleadh le barail nach eil cruaidh no cumhang ach tuigseach. Feumaidh mi sùil a thoirt air leabhar Gerard Hughe. Tapadh leibh. <br /><br />Soul Searcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484611864233206491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-59625892007221830882014-05-15T14:13:46.631-07:002014-05-15T14:13:46.631-07:00The search ended when I was walking to a new churc...The search ended when I was walking to a new church and felt an unseen force pushing me back. Since I had been brought up to attend church no matter what, even if I was no longer sure of the existence of God, I stubbornly kept on walking. With each step I took, the force seemed to get stronger until it felt as if I was wading through glue. The feeling stopped when I reached the steps of the church, as if whoever had put up the resistance had conceded that I was determined to get inside. I took a place on the back pew. A man with greasy hair and thick glasses slipped in beside me. He tried to chat me up and when we were told to offer one another the sign of peace, he wouldn&#39;t let go of my hand and started stroking me. For the first time in my life, I walked out of a church before the service was finished, and for many years I didn&#39;t darken the door of another one except for baptisms, weddings and funerals. Even at the time, it seemed to me that there was something supernatural about this incident. Maybe God didn&#39;t want me to be going to churches, because they were doing me absolutely no good.<br />Around this time, I had what might be called a mystical experience when I had an experience that God&#39;s love was far greater and broader than anything we can imagine and that no-one can ultimately escape it. I was nowhere near a church when this happened. On that day, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that there is a spiritual reality beyond what we can sense in our everyday lives. Now I only have the memory of that certainty. I studied yoga and meditation and developed a sense that God works in many ways, through many religions and through people of no religion. I had an image of different religions being like blind men trying to feel an elephant. One feels the trunk, one feels the tail and one feels a leg and they all argue about what the elephant is like without realising that the truth of the elephant is greater than what they can comprehend. Gerard Hughe&#39;s book &#39;The God of Surprises&#39; was also helpful. He talks about three different stages of religion: a childlike faith, the doubts of adolescence and finally a mature faith which acknowledges doubts.<br />About two years ago I began attending church again. We moved home. My husband drifted back to the church he grew up in. At the same time a close family member was gravely ill and I went along to my husband&#39;s church, partly out of curiosity and partly because it helped me pray. One of the reasons was that a close family member was gravely ill, and I wanted to pray for them. I kept coming back, because I seemed to come back with more than I expected from the experience. It felt as if the God I had longed for twenty years before was no longer completely elusive. I experienced insights and emotions, I didn&#39;t expect. At other times, it was less eventful, but I left with a sense of peace. Sometimes I just felt that I had finally come home.<br />Our searching doesn&#39;t always bring the results we expect. Does God hide away or is he always there, but we aren&#39;t ready to experience him (or her)? I&#39;ve asked myself why it took twenty years. I suppose I had a lot of baggage to get rid of.<br />Find God in cups of coffee or flowers or walks by the sea, and if it&#39;s ever time for you to be helped by a church, that will become clear. I told my daughter that she shouldn&#39;t ever feel obliged to attend church, because religion is like potty training. You can show a child what to do, but they can&#39;t do it until they&#39;re ready.canachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17701638262812797700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-30245711084814603132014-05-15T14:13:04.131-07:002014-05-15T14:13:04.131-07:00Leugh mi am blog agaibh le uidh. Chaidh mo thogail...Leugh mi am blog agaibh le uidh. Chaidh mo thogail ann&#39;s an Eaglais Shaor Chleireach. Tha cuimhne agam dè cho coibhneil &#39;s a bha na seann daoine a bha a&#39; frithealachadh an eaglais againn. Bruidhinneadh iad rium agus bheireadh iad suiteis dhomh. Dh&#39;ionnsaich mi mo chiad faclan Gàidhlig bhuapa. Bha e ceart gu leòr bruidhinn beagan ri clann ach cha robh e ceadaichte cabaideach air latha na Sàbaid. <br />My grandmother, who was one of the kindest people you could meet, would always leave the church straight after the service without speaking to anyone as it was a sin to chatter idly on the Sabbath Day. So if people didn&#39;t speak to you at the Free Presbyterian Church, that might have been the reason. I have many fond memories of the old people in the FP church. However, the services were very difficult for a young child to sit through. In those days, a minister was not considered sound if he spoke for less than an hour and it was not uncommon to preach for an hour and a quarter. Believe me, I worked it out from the time it took a church sweetie to slowly dissolve in my mouth. I usually had four extra hard church sweeties, and if I popped one in my mouth every twenty minutes, I could almost make them last through the sermon.<br />I was a very sincere believer until I left home to study and found that life in the world was very different from life in the very tight church community. I realised that if I tried to continue with the beliefs I was brought up with, I would either become a hypocrite or lose my sanity. <br />Since I came across your blog a few days ago, I have been thinking about your mission to explore different churches. I went through a similar stage almost twenty years ago when I was living in London. I&#39;m not sure if I visited fifty different churches, but I travelled all over London to try new churches. At that time, I would probably have described myself as agnostic, and I was determined to leave no stone unturned in my search for the truth about God and religion, although I wasn&#39;t convinced that there was anything behind it all. Sometimes I approached this in quite a systematic, scientific way, and at other times I felt a great longing for God which wasn&#39;t satisfied. To cut a long story short, I visited many churches and did not feel that any of them brought me even the remotest contact with God. This might have been partly due to my own attitude as I was in a very cynical, critical frame of mind. <br />canachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17701638262812797700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-89063062282781516652014-03-03T15:27:12.544-08:002014-03-03T15:27:12.544-08:00Apparently not, if a certain tetchy commentator ha...Apparently not, if a certain tetchy commentator had his way. Soul Searcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484611864233206491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-75358358097578080622014-03-03T15:17:43.412-08:002014-03-03T15:17:43.412-08:00&quot;SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER BEING A DAUGHTER OF A...&quot;SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER BEING A DAUGHTER OF A NOW LATE FP MINISTER.&quot;<br /><br />Why? Is she not entitled to an opinion of her own?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-30043764801923050492014-02-08T14:59:22.150-08:002014-02-08T14:59:22.150-08:00Re ur report on sermon by Rev Hutton Inverness. I ...Re ur report on sermon by Rev Hutton Inverness. I totally agree with his remarks about the MP concerned. SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER BEING A DAUGHTER OF A NOW LATE FP MINISTER. If her father was STILL alive her views would be different GUARANTEEDAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-28564928552012138362013-07-02T02:16:30.944-07:002013-07-02T02:16:30.944-07:00Plus ça change, plus c&#39;est la même chose. A bi...Plus ça change, plus c&#39;est la même chose. A bit of idle browsing has uncovered this report on an FP church in Glasgow, http://www.ship-of-fools.com/mystery/2006/1213.html mystery-worshipped in 2006 by Shaun the Sheep with remarkably similar results. Soul Searcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484611864233206491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-53458725062819472252013-02-18T05:47:21.951-08:002013-02-18T05:47:21.951-08:00Thank you for this. I appreciate your taking the t...Thank you for this. I appreciate your taking the time to comment so fully. Perhaps I didn&#39;t catch the congregation at its best. Soul Searcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484611864233206491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-4189991372027983412013-02-18T05:30:02.074-08:002013-02-18T05:30:02.074-08:00Hi, I belong to this congregation (an office-beare...Hi, I belong to this congregation (an office-bearer for what it may be worth). The comment above is not something that has taken place in our congregation and I&#39;m confident that the minister would not make such an announcement. Along with my family and a significant section of the congregation, I was at the Dingwall communion services otherwise I would have liked to have been there to welcome you. I&#39;m very disappointed that you didn&#39;t receive the welcome that you hoped for. The main reason for the men being at the door is to provide a welcome and they always shake folks&#39; hands. There is a welcome for anyone irrespective of their appearance or their views. The great purpose of our existence is to glorify and enjoy God and the only way to truly find this as well as the most fundamental matter of all is to come to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Way, Truth and the Life (John 14:6; Matthew 11:28) is the only one who can provide everlasting salvation, true freedom and deliverance from the infinite guilt of our sin before God as well as spiritual meaning. His righteousness and redemption is all that we need to trust in and it is not our religious or good works that can earn us salvation (Ephesians 2:8; John 3:16). He will receive all that come to Him putting their faith in Him and nothing else (John 6:37).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-34795022179765308212013-02-14T09:45:47.361-08:002013-02-14T09:45:47.361-08:00Very interesting. That explains why there was no c...Very interesting. That explains why there was no chat and no hanging about. Obviously I wouldn&#39;t have defiled their sanctuary even by saying good morning had I known about this rule, but I think it&#39;s safe to say I won&#39;t be darkening their doors again.Soul Searcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484611864233206491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-702498547782657636.post-26629802657590578432013-02-14T05:02:52.462-08:002013-02-14T05:02:52.462-08:00If it is the same place I think it is, I can tell ...If it is the same place I think it is, I can tell you of a 90 year old who recently took her 88 year old brother to a service to enable see where she was going and try and entice him attend. Poor soul spoke with others present trying to introduce her brother by name amongst the congregation. On returning in the evening, at the start of the service there was an announcement made and I quote what I was told: &quot;there will be no speaking amongst each other within this sanctuary until I the minister have left the building&quot;. One is left wondering would Christ Himself be welcomed into such premises! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com